Involuntary Memorization of Words in Case of Different Requirements to the Attention

The study examined the effectiveness of involuntary memorization of words in four different orientation tasks with different requirements to the attention: the simple detection, detection with the spatial clue, search of a specific letter in the word, and tracking of a given algorithm of words appearance. Objective effectiveness of memorization and level of subjective confidence in mnemonic judgments was tested. Four orientation tasks were compared with the task of voluntary memorization. The difference in memorization efficiency was found between the first and second tasks, and on the other hand, between the third and fourth tasks, and there is no difference within these pairs. Significant differences within the specified pairs were demonstrated in the indices of subjective confidence. The results are discussed from the perspective of levels approach to the attention further developed by the author of the study (Utochkin, 2008).

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